Weighing scales are a common feature in food shops and supermarkets in which goods are sold by weight. In addition to scales operated by supermarket staff, self-service scales may be provided for operation by customers. Existing self-service scales may provide additional information aside from merely measuring the weight of foodstuffs placed on them; for example, they may also provide the total cost of the product(s) weighed, identify specific products through scanning optical codes or through user input, and/or accept payment for the products in question.
However, customers in a food shop may have requirements beyond merely weighing out some goods and paying for them. Customers may be interested in suggestions for meals in which a product may be served or recipes for the preparation of the food they have purchased. They may also seek recommendations for foods or drinks that may pleasingly accompany the product they are weighing out, and so on. In addition, many supermarkets encompass a large area in which it may be difficult or time-consuming for customers unfamiliar with the store layout to find recommended products unless they receive some guidance.
Typically, supermarkets provide human staff in order to provide these services. Human staff may answer questions above and beyond the weight and pricing of goods—for example, they may suggest means of preparing foods or recipes using the ingredients weighed, along with other foods required to complete said recipes—and they can also accompany shoppers as they move around a shop floor to help them find the additional foods needed for meal recipes. However, providing human staff in attendance on each self-service weighing scale would not only be expensive, it would also defeat the purpose of having self-service scales in the first place.
There is therefore an ongoing need for weighing scales which can provide additional information in a portable form.